Cloth shrinking machine



G. A. scHRElNER CLOTH SHRINKING MACHINE April 30, 1940.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Filed May 7, 1938 April 30, 1940. cs. A. SCHREINER CLOTH SHRINKING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet 2 I Filed May 7 1938 fna en ior r aA'akra mer War/4nd a jy 1 Ap 1940- G. A. SCHREINEJR 2,199,011

CLOTH SHRINKING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 30, 1940 PATENT f OFFICE CLOTH SHRINKI'NG MACHINE I George A. Schreiner, Troy, N. Y., assignor to.

Cluett, Peabody & 00., Inc., Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May '1, 1938, Serial No. 206,517 8 Claims. (01. 2618.6)

This invention relates to cloth shrinking machines of the type, such for example as described in United States Patent No. 1,861,424, in' which a travelling belt passes over a roll, and with reversal of curvature onto a heated cylinder, and

in which a plurality of pressure members or ironing blocks rests on the surface of a web of cloth on the travelling belt for the purpose of causing the cloth to conform to the contraction of the surface of the belt as the latter is about torun off the roll.

In machines of this type, as disclosed in Patent No. 1,861,424, a plurality of pressure members or ironing blocks are employed in close side by side relation on the travelling belt on the inlet roll, so as to cover the entire width of the entering cloth, the reason for using a plurality of such members being to provide that the pressure upon the cloth at various places across its width will be uniform notwithstanding slight flexure of the roll and unavoidable variations in thickness of the belt and in thickness of the cloth.

In compressively shrinking the cloth by this form of machine, reliance is placed upon the pressure members or ironing blocks to maintain the cloth in firm contact with the contracting surface of the belt as near as possible to the point at which the travelling belt brings the cloth into pressure-contact with the heated cylinder.

In experimenting with machines of this construction, it has been found that the resulting finish of the cloth is better, and the desired de- But on the other hand, different thicknesses of cloth require adjustment of the pressure members if these desirable relations between the pressure members and cloth are to be maintained in each case, and it is desirable that a machine shall be easily andaccurately adjustable so that all of its pressure members can be quickly brought into the desired relation to cloth of any given thickness.

Accordingly in general,"an object of the in-- vention is to provide an improved mounting for the pressure members or ironing blocks of a machineof this type, and a particular object of the invention is to provide a mechanism adapted to adjust simultaneously the positions of the several pressure members circumferentially of the roll, so as to position the tips of these members as near as possible to the place where the cloth comes into pressure-confinement with the cylinder, and a still further object is to provide a mounting for the pressure members in which the pressure members will be yieldingly urged in a direction to press their pointed tip positions toward the inlet roll, thus providing a uniform pressure on.the cloth at the place where it leaves the'pressure members. r I

Further objects of invention and features of advantage and novelty will be apparent from this speciflcation and its accompanying drawings,

wherein 'the invention is explained by way of example.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view in the nature of a front elevation of the entering end of a'cloth shrinking machine embodying the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig.3 is a fragmentary front view of the cam shaft and cam shaft locking mechanism of the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2;

' Fig. 4 is a vertical section-corresponding to Fig. 2, showing a somewhat modified adjusting mechanism; and I v v Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryfront elevation of the cam shaft and cam locking mechanism of the apparatus of Fig. 4.

Referring. particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the

, electrically heated pressure members or ironing blocks it (shown on dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in side view in Fig. 2) are arranged closely side by side'acro'ss the width of the entering web of cloth 10, so as to press the cloth firmly against the outersurface of atravelling belt 12 as the latter runs over an inlet roll l3.on its way'to a heated cylinder l4. Suitable means described in Patent No. 1,861,424 are employed to press the inlet roll 13 with the required degree of pressure to;- ward the heated cylinder I4 so as to nip the cloth web w and travelling belt l2 against the cylinder, these means comprising generally an adjustable frame l6 carrying the bearings 11 and I8 of the inlet roll l3, and arranged to be adjusted relatively to the frame of the machine to hold the inlet roll and the belt I2 with the required de-,

II has a concave lower surface conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt i2 on the inlet roll I3, has a sharp point Ila extending down in between the belt I2 and the heated cylinder l4 and has a rearwardly extending lip lib.

Also as described in Patent No. 1,861,424,, a channel iron 2| mounted on swinging brackets 22 at opposite sides of the machine, is employed as a mounting for springs acting to urge the pressure members ll downwardly into contact with the entering cloth.

According to the present invention, means are provided for simultaneously adjusting the positions of the curved pressure members H circumferentially of the roll I3.

Referring to Fig. 2 there is rotatably mounted in brackets 23 on the lower side of the channel iron 2i a cam shaft 24 having cams 26, one cam for e'achpressure member. These several cams 26 act as fulcrums about which the pressure members are urged to swing downwardly against the cloth, by means of springs 28 connected to therearwardly' extending lips lib and to the channel iron 2|. Instead of the rearwardly extending lip lib of the pressure member making contact with the corresponding cam 26, it ispreferred to provide an adjustable tappet 30 connected by a screw 3! to the lip lib. Screw 3| is threaded into lip llb so that by an initial adjustment oi the screw 3| of each of the pressure members all of these members can be brought into the desired position for some one set of operating conditions.

The cam shaft '24 which is rotatable in the brackets 23 can however readily be turned by inserting a pin into one of the holes 25 in a collar 21 thereon. A rotation of the cam shaft such that the cams 26 position the tappets 30 farther downward thus moves the whole series of pressure members ll circumferentially in a clockwise direction in Fig. 2, and a movement of the cam shaft such that the earns 26 allow the tappets 30 to rise, causes the whole series of pressure members to be moved in a counter clock-wise direction in Fig. 2.

Further according to the invention, it is preferably provided that the pressure members Ii shall have their tip end portions yieldingly urged inwardly toward the inlet roll i3 so as to afford a positive pressure on the cloth at this point regardless of the accuracy of the fit of the pressure members on the traVeIIing belt at other points. For this purpose, it is preferred that the tappets 30 have a certain freedom of movement laterally in Fig. 2 with relation to the cams 26, that is, that the pressure members II and their attached ta ppets be capable of moving transversely of the up and down movement of the tappets. A bracket 32 (which as shown in Fig. l-is hollowed out so that the spring 26 can pass through it) carries a second spring 33 which engages the screw 3|. The effect of this second spring 33 is yieldingly to urge the pressure member ll not only to rotate about the cam 26 and against the belt l2 on the roll, but also to urge it yieldingly to move in a direction generally toward the right in Fig. 2 so that its pointed tip end I la is bound to press firmly against the travelling cloth.

A suitable locking mechanism such as a screw 35 adapted to clamp the bracket 23 may be employed to fix the cam shaft 24 in any desired position and a suitable scale 31 on the collar 26 is adapted to cooperate with a pointer 33 to indicate the particular position of the cam shaft.

reference characters are employed to indicate parts that are similar to those of Figs. 2 and 3, the cam shaft in this instance is provided with a worm gear 40 meshing with and rotated by a worm 4| which is turned by a handle 42, to provide an easier and more accurate adjustment of the cam shaft than in the arrangement of Figs. 2 and 3. As indicated in Fig. 5, a suitable scale 31a on a collar 21a on the cam shaft cooperates with a suitable pointer 39a to indicate the adjustment of the cam shaft and pressure members.

I claim:

1. A cloth shrinking machine including an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, in combination with means for simultaneously adjusting the positions of the several pressure members circumferentially of the roll.

2. A cloth shrinking machine including an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on-the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a cam shaft common to the several pressure members, and means whereby rotation of the cam shaft causes the several pressure members to shift circumferentially around the inlet roll.

3. A cloth shrinking machine including an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a cam shaft, a plurality of cams on the shaft,

and tappets associated with the several pressure members so that rotation of the cam shaft adjusts the several pressure members simultaneously.

4. A cloth shrinking machine including an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the -curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a cam shaft having a plurality of cam surfaces, one for each pressure member, means associated with the several pressure members to bear against the corresponding cams, and springs for yieldingiyurging the several pressure members to turn around the cams as fulcrums.

5. A cloth shrinking machinedncluding an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a cam shaft having a plurality of cam surfaces, one for each pressure member, adjustable tappets associated with the several pressure members and bearing against the corresponding cams, and springs for yieldingly urging the pressure members to turn around the cams as fulcrums to bear against a cloth web on the travelling belt.

.6. A cloth shrinking machine including an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a cam shaft, cams on the shaft for the respective pressure members, means associated with the several pressure members for hearing against aieep the pressure members in a direction to press their pointed tip portions inwardly toward the roll.

7. A cloth shrinking machine including an inlet roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and thence onto the cylinder, and a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a cam shaft, cams on the shaft for the respective pressure members, tappets associated with the several pressure members and bearing against the earns, the tappets being adapted to be moved in one direction by the cams to adjust the pressure members circumferentially of the roll, and having their surfaces which contact with the cams capable of movement with respect. to the cams in a transverse direction, and springs yieldingly urging the several pressure members in a direction to press their pointed tip portions inward toward the roll. v

' 8. A cloth shrinking machine including an in-- let roll, a heated cylinder, a belt running on the roll and hence, onto the cylinder, a plurality of pressure members conforming generally to the curvature of the outer surface of the belt on the roll, a member constituting a fulcrum for the several pressure members, means for yieldingly urging the several pressure members to turn around said fulcrum toward the roll, and means for shifting said fulcrum member in directions such as to cause the pressure members to shift circumferentially of the roll.

GEORGE vA. SCHREINER. 

